By Clint Thompson
Neopestalotiopsis (Neo) disease continues to threaten strawberry production across the Southeast. One of the most efficient ways to overcome the disease is to rotate the crop, in and out of a field. But that can be easier said than done, according to Phil Brannen, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension fruit disease specialist.
“I tell producers, strawberry producers, your ideal scenario is you’d like to rotate out of strawberries for at least a year because it will survive, the organism will survive well in the soil and the debris from the old plants that were there, especially in the strawberry crowns that you incorporate back in the soil,” Brannen said. “You need to give it a year to break down and die out. It definitely will survive for that long. Rotation is good.
“Unfortunately, for a lot of our strawberry producers in Georgia and really quite a few places in the Southeast, they don’t have a lot of land. They’re often U-pick operations where the public’s involved. When you look at it from that perspective, they don’t have a lot of ability to rotate out; and so that becomes a challenge.”
Disease Background
Neopestalotiopsis has been a danger to strawberry plants every year since it was first discovered during the 2018–19 season on five farms in Florida. It can lead to severe leaf spotting and blighting under favorable weather conditions, specifically during extended periods of wetness.
While land rotation may not be an option for some producers, there is a more feasible management tactic of implementing clean plants. Brannen continues to emphasize that tactic.
“Fumigation and then bringing in clean plants is your best option. With that, you know, where we’ve had Neo in the past, if people have done that, if they fumigated well and brought in clean plants, they’ve actually done okay,” Brannen said. “We haven’t seen it just blow up that following year, but it’s always a possibility.”